History of the United States Army Special Forces facts for kids
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The U.S. Army Special Forces traces its roots as the Army's premier proponent of unconventional warfare from purpose-formed special operations units like the Alamo Scouts, Philippine guerrillas, First Special Service Force, and the Operational Groups (OGs) of the Office of Strategic Services. Although the OSS was not an Army organization, many Army personnel were assigned to the OSS and later used their experiences to influence the forming of Special Forces.
During the Korean War, individuals such as former Philippine guerrilla commanders Col. Wendell Fertig and Lt. Col. Russell W. Volckmann used their wartime experience to formulate the doctrine of unconventional warfare that became the cornerstone of the Special Forces.
In 1951, Major General Robert A. McClure chose former OSS member Colonel Aaron Bank as Operations Branch Chief of the Special Operations Division of the Psychological Warfare Staff (OCPW) in the Pentagon.
In June 1952, the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was formed under Col. Aaron Bank, soon after the establishment of the Psychological Warfare School, which ultimately became today's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was split, with the cadre that kept the designation 10th SFG deployed to Bad Tölz, Germany, in September 1953. The remaining cadre at Fort Bragg formed the 77th Special Forces Group, which in May 1960 was reorganized and designated as today's 7th Special Forces Group.
Since their establishment in 1952, Special Forces soldiers have operated in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia, Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, 1st Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, Syria, Yemen, Niger and, in an FID role, East Africa.
Creation
Their lineage dates back to include more than 200 years of unconventional warfare history, with notable predecessors including the American Revolutionary War "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion, Benjamin Forsyth in the War of 1812, Frederick Funston of the Philippine–American War, the WWII OSS Jedburgh Teams, OSS Detachment 101 in Burma, the Alamo Scouts, Colt Terry of the Korean War, and Vietnam War United States Army Special Forces officer Richard J. Meadows.
Some of the Office of Strategic Services were similar in terms of the mission with the original U.S. Army Special Forces function, unconventional warfare (UW), acting as cadre to train and lead guerrillas in occupied countries. The Special Forces motto, De oppresso liber (Latin: "to free the oppressed") reflects this historical mission of guerrilla warfare against an occupying power. Specifically, the three-man Jedburgh teams provided leadership to French Resistance units. The larger Office of Strategic Services "OSS" Operational Groups (OG) were more associated with Strategic Reconnaissance/Direct Action (SR/DA) missions, although they did work with resistance units.
Another unit widely associated with the origins of the Army Special Forces was the First Special Service Force, a joint Canadian-American unit formed in 1942 and disbanded in 1944. Members of the First Special Service Force were retroactively awarded the Special Forces Tab upon its creation in 1983 for their part in Special Forces' history. Each year, a joint 1st Special Forces Group-Canadian Special Operations Regiment exercise, known as Menton Week is held to commemorate the historical link that both units share in the First Special Service Force.
While Filipino American guerrilla operations in the Japanese-occupied Philippines are not part of the direct lineage of Army Special Forces, some of the early Special Forces leadership had been involved with those operations. They would use what they had learned fighting as guerilla units in the doctrine of unconventional warfare in the Special Forces. They included Russell Volckmann, who commanded guerrillas in Northern Luzon and in Korea, Donald Blackburn, who also served with the Northern Luzon force, and Colonel Wendell Fertig, who developed a division-sized force on Mindanao.
The Korean War, which began in 1950, was a shock to the US military and highlighted the deficiencies in psychological warfare. In spite of this, United Nations Partisan Forces Korea operated on islands and behind enemy lines. These forces were also known as the 8086th Army Unit, and later as the Far East Command Liaison Detachment, Korea, FECLD-K 8240th Army Unit. Experience gained in the Korean War by these units influenced the development of U.S. Army Special Forces doctrine.
Special Forces were formed in 1952, initially under the U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Division headed by then Brigadier General Robert A. McClure, due to the identified need to have psychological warfare capabilities. McClure specialized in psychological warfare but had little experience in unconventional warfare, though he believed the two were inextricably linked.
Special Operations Command was formed by the U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Center which was activated in May 1952. The initial 10th Special Forces Group was formed in June 1952 and was commanded by Colonel Aaron Bank who is known as the father of Special Forces. The first Executive Officer was LTC William C. Martin, Jr. The 10th SFG's formation coincided with the establishment of the Psychological Warfare School, which is now known as the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Bank served with various Office of Strategic Services (OSS) units, including Jedburgh teams advising and leading French Resistance units before the Battle of Normandy ("D-Day" invasion) of 6 June 1944. LTC Martin was a mustang, having enlisted at age 17; he was promoted to second lieutenant during WWII. Before being commissioned he was the US VIIth Army's Boxing Champion for his weight class. He served as a company commander with the 82 Airborne and saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge. He received his third combat jump star in Korea while serving with the 187th Regimental Combat Team. He retired as an LTC at age 37 while serving in Bad Tölz with the 10th Special Forces Group.
The 10th SFG deployed to Bad Tölz, Germany the following September. The remaining cadre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina formed the 77th Special Forces Group, which in May 1960 became 7th Special Forces Group.
The Special Forces branch was established as a basic branch of the United States Army on 9 April 1987, by Army General Order No. 35.
Women in the Green Berets
In 1981 Capt. Kathleen Wilder became the first woman to qualify for the Green Berets. She was told she had failed a field exercise just before graduation, but she filed a sex discrimination complaint, and it was determined that she "had been wrongly denied graduation." In 2020 the first woman actually joined the Green Berets.
Images for kids
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Special Forces Group organization in the Vietnam Era
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B. R. Lang, wearing 6th SFG flash, 1970. (TDY Laos Project 404; 1971 Studies and Observations Group).
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U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers with Northern Alliance troops on horseback during the invasion of Afghanistan, 12 November 2001.
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US Special Forces in Gayan Valley, eastern Afghanistan, 19 July 2003.
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US Army Green Berets firing on an insurgent sniper position during a joint patrol with Afghan commandos of the 6th Commando Kandak in Wardak Province, October 9, 2011.
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Green Berets of the 10th SFG memorialize two comrades who were killed in action during the Battle of Boz Qandahari on November 2–3, 2016, during a memorial held at Kunduz Airfield in Afghanistan on November 7, 2016.
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Special Forces along with Iraqi Army forces conduct an air assault in-route to their mission objective to capture terrorists of a known insurgent force, September 2007.
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A Special Forces operator in Syria wearing a FAST helmet with MultiCam clothing and armed with a modified M4A1 carbine alongside a SF Multi-Purpose Canine provides security for a nearby mortar position during the Deir ez-Zor campaign, October 11, 2018
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